Improvement in Essential Oil Quantity and Quality of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) by Integrative Application of Chitosan Nanoparticles and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi under Water Stress Conditions

Abstract

Water stress is one of the critical abiotic stresses and limiting factors in the productivity of plants, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In recent years, the application of bio-fertilizer and stress-modulating nanoparticles (NPs) is known as one of the eco-friendly strategies for improving plants quantity and quality under stressful conditions. In order to achieve the desirable essential oil (EO) quality and quantity of thyme in water deficit conditions, a 2-year field experiment was carried out as a split plot based on the randomized complete block design (RCBD), with 12 treatments and three replications. The treatments included different irrigation levels, containing irrigation at 80% field capacity (FC80) as no stress, 60% FC as moderate water stress (FC60) and 40% FC as severe water stress (FC40), as well as four different fertilizer sources, including non-application of fertilizer (control), application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), chitosan NPs (CHT) and co-application of AMF+CHT NPs. The results demonstrated that the dry yield of thyme decreased by 13% and 40.3% under FC60 and FC40 water stress conditions. However, co-application of AMF+CHT NPs enhanced the dry yield of thyme by 21.7% in comparison to the control (non-application of fertilizer). The maximum EO content (2.03%) and EO yield (10.04 g 7 g m−2) of thyme were obtained under moderate water stress (FC60) fertilized with AMF+CHT NPs. Co-application of AMF+CHT NPs enhanced the EO content and EO yield of thyme by 17.1% and 42.7%, respectively. Based on the GC-MS and GC-FID analysis, 38 constituents were identified in the thyme EO, with the major constituents being thymol (35.64–41.31%), p-cymene (16.35–19.38%), γ-terpinene (12.61–13.98%) and carvacrol (2.78–3.93%) respectively. The highest content of thymol and γ-terpinene was obtained under moderate water stress (FC60) fertilized with AMF+CHT NPs. In addition, the highest content of p-cymene and carvacrol was observed in the severe water stress (FC40) fertilized with AMF+CHT NPs. The present research suggests that the co-application of AMF+CHT NPs represents a sustainable and eco-friendly strategy for improving the EO quantity and quality of thyme under water stress conditions.

Exploring Chemical Variability in the Essential Oils of the Thymus Genus

“…Biotic factors, including the application of bio-fertilizers and stress-modulating nanoparticles, significantly influence the composition of thyme essential oil. Amani Machiani et al [119] demonstrated that the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and chitosan nanoparticles (CHT) as bio-fertilizers, either individually or in combination, enhances both the quantity and quality of thyme essential oil, particularly thymol, p-cymene, and γ-terpinene. Furthermore, the application of Thiobacillus bio-fertilizer and treatment with superabsorbent were found to impact the content of thymol, caryophyllene, and borneol in Thymus vulgaris and T. daenesis [120].…”

“…The composition of thyme essential oil is highly influenced by a variety of factors, as discussed previously and summarized in Table 2, showing the effect of different abiotic and biotic factors on essential oil composition of thyme species. Under the different mentioned factors, Thymus vulgaris shows an increased rate of thymol in the essential oil, in case of increased salinity at 150 mM NaCl [125] and at 100 mM NaCl [126] using substrate that contain 100 gm −2 of humic acid, using biofertilizers such as AMF [119] or PGPB [121], and in the case of increasing shade rate by using shade nets with a shade index of 40% [127]. However, thymol rate decreased in case of drought stress [102,103].…”